Space Talk
Alpha Centauri System This trinary system consists of: Prima Facie, a yellow, Sol-like star; Altera, a smaller orange star; and Procul (Proximus), a distant red dwarf. It is the closest star system to that much-contested planet, Earth. Due to the gravitation effects between the three stars, anything captured by the system will either be pulled into one of the suns or have a very eccentric orbit between the three. Thousands of asteroids and comets follow strange orbital patterns, the remnants of a planet destroyed in Procul's explosive conversion to a red dwarf. Navigation is difficult but possible with experience; the stars' gravitational effects are predictable. Sky Lynx is exploring? Possibly. Or he is currently cutting a course towards Mia to take a look at something that has bothered him for a while now. Engines thrumming along, he cruises almost casually through the vacuum of space towards Cybertron's moon. Space Shuttle soars through outer space. This is where he is in his element. This is where he belongs. Here he can exist far away from the annoying riff-raff found planetside and enjoy the comforting silence. And it is silent.... always so silent.... and lonely. Suddenly his sensors pick up a blip....Sky Lynx? What is that Autofool doing here? The shuttle maintains course for awhile, then slowly, almost reluctantly, alters that course towards the Autobot. Why? Even Blast Off wouldn't ever admit the real reason. Sky Lynx is not in that shuttle-mode, mainly because the FTL drives aren't needed. But that doesn't mean he's not paying attention to his surroundings. His optical visor flashes as onboard systems warn him of another shuttle in the area. Turning, he moves on intercept course until he spies the Deceptishuttle. "I assure you! If you are here to stir up conflict, you will be leaving your Combaticon brethren short one vital part to form up Bruticus!" "Pffft!" Blast Off snorts derisively. "Like I'd bother with you today! ...I was merely going to ask you the same thing. Why are you in here, in Decepticon airspace? The Decepticons will not tolerate such intrusions. If you have maliciousness in mind, I will report you and there will be a fleet of Decepticons here shortly." Sky Lynx chuckles softly. "I dare any Decepticon to challenge my domain. Are you offering, Blast Off?" He slows to a stop, firing a few bursts of his retro-rockets to halt any forward movement. "I am flying, I should hope that much was obvious. It is not something I feel I should need to justify to you. Now, what are you doing here?" The Combaticon space shuttle doesn't like to give ground, but he does shift slightly, arcing away lazily, like he is simply doing something he meant to do anyway. "What you choose to believe hardly matters to me. I rarely can fathom what makes an Autofo-..bot tick, after all. What am I here for? I am keeping an optic on you. And I will continue to do so until after you have exited my designated patrol route. Sky Lynx says, "Hah, amusing. You and I both know this is not your assigned route. The Decepticon patrols cease once they reach inner-orbit due to the presence of heavy starships on both fronts, and a sensor network." He holds where he's at. "So, what's your next excuse? I can't imagine you are here to speak with me. Though, I have seen stranger things." Space Shuttle 's wing's ailerons flick briefly, almost like a nervous "slaggit, got caught" reflex, but otherwise the shuttle betrays no emotion. "You have already forgotten that I am a Combaticon, Sky Lynx? We Combaticons do not always follow Decepticon protocol, you should know that. I do what Onslaught tells me. If you wonder why I am here, you can always feel free to ask him." The shuttle then flies along in his customary silence. Sky Lynx grunts. "I do believe I shall, when I feel it is worth my time of course. You annoy me... So, if you do not mind, I am going back to enjoying my flight." Engines kick on and he starts to turn to carry on his previous course. "Plenty of space for the both of us, so feel free to move along." Space Shuttle hmmphs. "Certainly. It's not like *I* care." The shuttle flies along but doesn't alter course. After a long period of silence, the shuttle's radio activates again. "You Autobots are always in a rush, aren't you? Rushing to "save the innocents", rushing to "save the galaxy", rushing...rushing... being complete busy-bodies and bleeding hearts! It gives my cerebro-cortex a component-ache. With all that rushing, I doubt you even HAVE the time to appreciate the wonders of the universe laid out right before you. Like- like that gas cloud, for instance!" There is a nearby gas cloud- the ice cystals of the cloud glimmer in the starlight, catching colors even out here in the coldness of space. Sky Lynx looks back. "Still following me?" He shakes his head slowly. "We rush because everything is time-sensitive. Think about it...if we are trying to do something, you Cons are already trying to counteract it, or beat us to the punch. We are required to rush. What we do is for the greater whole, not just ourselves...so, it is far more involved." He looks back out at the expanse around him. "But if you think we miss the sights around us, you are sorely mistaken. Rather, they are all that more phenomenal due to the brevity in which we get to actually admire them." Space Shuttle 's vents huff slightly again. "Perhaps some of us are just faster than others. And therefore have more time. I suppose your friend Blurr, as faulty as HE is, might be able to explain how that works to you someday." The shuttle flies steady for awhile, then: "You speak like you have seen something "phenomenal". What, Primus tell, is "phenomenal" to an Autobot? Sky Lynx is silent for a moment. "Have you ever seen a Pulsar? Phenomenal, yes. But I should tell you this much, if you head out, take some time...truly head out, five hundred thousand light-years out, towards the gap between Andromeda and the Milky Way galaxy, adjust your filters for red-hydrogen, blue-oxygen, and check the star-cluster nearest the trailing arm of the Milky Way, you will see a sight that is phenomenal." He chuckles. "If you truly believe that you have seen everything, then you've not been there." Space Shuttle continues to fly silently as he takes that in. When he speaks, the usual high level of condescension in his voice has dropped a little and an unusual tone of earnestness has edged in ever-so-slightly. "I have seen pulsars from a distance, but not that one. I will.... make a note of that. It sounds...interesting." More silence, then "However, how YOU seen the Horsehead Nebula? Just south of the star Alnitak in the Orion system. To fly through that is to feel as insignificant as our kind ever can. It reaches longer and further than a shuttle could ever easily soar. Try flying straight "up" through one of those hydrogen gas clouds and see if you will ever observe the galaxy the same way ever again. Sky Lynx says, "It's commonly mistaken as a gamma-ray pulse. Mistaken simply because it is not. It is, rather, an anomaly the opposite of the common black hole, nothing can enter it and it shunts radiation at a phenomenal rate. I believe the theoretical naming was officially dubbed as a 'white hole'. How underwhelming, no?" He listens to the list. "I have seen a few in my day, Blast Off. You forget, a large portion of my tour with the Autobots took me far and wide to various places beyond the normal reach of most Cybertronians." "Indeed. White holes are, however, a fascinating concept. It might be quite informative to discover what lies inside...if anyone could determine how to get in...and do so safely." Blast Off arcs slightly closer, then corrects himself and pulls away, maintaining his former distance. He sniffs. "Well, that is one of the reasons why shuttles are superior. We see so much more than ground-pounders or mere planetside-flyers could ever comprehend." Sky Lynx looks over at Blast Off critically. "If you insist." He looks behind them both, then ahead towards Mia. "So, I will ask again...why are you following me? I can tell there is something on your mind, you may as well spill it. Is it about Snowblind?" He settles his optical visor on Blast Off again. Space Shuttle falters slightly, aelirons flicking again, but continues on. "Snowblind? Why would I care where she is? She took off with Misfire and I haven't seen them since. Good riddance as far as I'm concerned." The shuttle says nothing about how nervous that entire incident makes him feel... if Galvatron ever discovered his (unwitting) participation in Snowblind's rediscovery, Galvatron is crazy enough to possibly blame Blast Off as much as Misfire... "And I plan to forget she ever existed, if she will have the decency to stay lost." He huffs. "Like I said before, I want nothing...I am merely following you until I reach my designated turn-off point." Pause, and the shuttle arcs away slightly. "Which is soon." Sky Lynx hmms... "If you insist." He accelerates a slight bit, slowly altering course to begin drifting towards the proverbial 'left'...not that such locations have any significance in space. "Well, I hope it is soon, otherwise you are liable to follow me all the way to Mia. I doubt that is your turn-off point." Space Shuttle allows Sky Lynx to break away, continuing on his own original course. What he won't say, naturally, is how FAR-off course he really ended up going....just for a little conversation. "Indeed." The Combaticon then silently continues on his way, entering Sky Lynx's suggested sightseeing trip in his star charts for future reference. It's all for data-gathering, of course, …not because he actually wants to see it, …right?....though… it does sound interesting. ...He didn't lie about that. Sky Lynx watches as Blast Off veers off-course and carries on towards Mia. Turning his focus forward, he carries on undeterred.